International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 5, December 2010
ISSN: 2010-0248
Studies on Performance Management System of
Sona Group of Companies, Gurgaon, India
Geeta Kumari and K.M.Pandey, Member, IACSIT
Sona Koyo on 11th November 2003.
As part of Sona Koyo’s globalization strategy the
company has recently acquired stake in Fuji Autotech
France S.A.S, which is the fourth largest steering column
supplier in Europe.
Sona koyo Steering System Limited was set up to
manufacture Auto components for the Indian automotive
market. Today the company is the largest manufacturer of
steering gears in India.
Sona koyo steering system ltd. is a technique and
financial joint venture company of koyo Seiko Company,
Japan—the global technology leader in steering systems.
The company is the largest manufacturer of steering gears in
India and is the leading supplier of—

Hydraulic power steering system

Manual rack and pinion steering system

Collapsible, tilt and rigid steering columns for
passengers vans and MUVs.
The company’s product range also extends to Rear Axle
Assemblies and Propeller Shafts. The world economic
forum named the company as ―GLOBAL GROWTH
COMPANY‖ in 1997. The company is now well positioned
to lead the Indian automotive component industry to global
standards.
SONA CERTIFICATION: --1)
TS 16949
2)
ISO 14001
PRODUCTS:Its range of products includes Steering and Driveline
components for the automotive OEM segments including
passenger cars, utility vehicles, commercial vehicles and
specialty vehicles. Sona offers its customers a diverse range
of quality automotive components for passenger car, jeep
and commercial vehicles with major automotive
manufacturer of the world entering industry.
PLANTS: -Sona koyo has two production plants located at
GURGAON, DHARUHERA, SINGUR, RUDRAPUR and
CHENNAI, and are operating at full capacity with increased
levels of outsourcing, especially in steering parts operated.
Sona believes in—
Abstract—In this research report, performance management
system of Sona group of companies are studied. The Overall
finding is this that most of the employees are satisfied with the
change in Performance Management System. And the changes
what we have suggested for PMS in the company, has
increased the satisfaction level of the employees.
Index Terms—performance, satisfaction, system, challenges,
innovation, management
I. INTRODUCTION OF SONA GROUP
In the automotive component industries, Sona is a name
that stands for quality, dynamism and multifaceted growth.
With its beginning as a small company in 1987, now Sona
group comprises several companies each of which are in
joint venture partnership and technical and financial
collaboration with global leaders in their specialist areas.
The Sona group comprises five operating and two services
organizations.
Sona is driving upon the strengths of its joint venture
partners, which includes Koyo Seiko co. Japan; Mondo
Korea; Mitsubishi Materials co. Japan; Somic Ishikawa,
Japan; Fuji autotech, France& Fuji autotech AB, Sweden
and ZF Lemforder, Germany to upgrade its systems, Skills,
and Production values to offer its customers contemporary
and high quality products.
Sona is looking forward to the challenge ahead. The
group is committed of rapid expansion of its products range
and control by Govt. investing in contemporary and
environment friendly technology. The Sona group hopes to
touch the Rs. 8000 million mark as its stride ahead to the
21st century. Diverse and dynamic Sona is looking beyond
the future. Under Dr. Surinder Kapur’s entrepreneurial
leadership the industrial
workforce of the group is turning Sona’ s vision of
making product of International quality and meeting and
exceeding customer’s requirements at all times into reality.
A. Sona koyo—“partner of choice”
Sona koyo the flagship company of the Sona group is
currently the largest manufacturer of steering systems for
the passenger car and utility vehicles market in India, with a
Market share of 45%. Its collaborator and partner koyo
Seiko Company limited, Japan, is the market leader in Japan
and has recently announced a merger with Toyota Machine
Works, making it number one steering systems
manufacturer in the world. The company also has a
technological collaboration with Ando Corporation, Korea.
The Deming Award, the world’s most coveted Honour
for excellence in Total Quality Management was awarded to
1)
2)
3)
Respect for the individual
Services to the customers
Excellence in pursuit of our goal
B. Key Milestones of The Company
1985--a) Technical collaboration agreement with Koyo Seiko co.
ltd for manufacturer.
b) Manual steering gear assemblies
c) Steering column assemblies
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International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 5, December 2010
ISSN: 2010-0248
1.
Toyota India: supplier of the year 2002 (Silver
for Sona koyo)
2. Hyundai 2002: Sona Koyo awarded 100 ppm
recognition
3. Maruti Suzuki 2004: Vendor development
awarded for Sona Koyo
4. ACMA 2004: Technology award for the Sona
Koyo
OTHER COMPETENCIES OF THE COMPANY: --TQM (Total quality management):- It includes –Exactness
improvement
1)
Visualization improvement
2)
Policy management
3)
Daily work management
4)
JIT implementation
5)
Flow manufacturing
6)
Risk hazard analysis
7)
Concept of doctors on the shop floor
8)
Product, quality and cost management
9)
Back to Back (B2B) program
TPM (Total productivity management):- It was initiated
in Sona koyo to achieve and maintain high level
productivity in operations especially in manufacturing. With
TPM it was possible to obtain and sustain the optimal
condition of the machine and thus, achieve ZERO
breakdowns and produce high quality output at low input
cost. TPM was selected for the company, which is based on
ZERO LOSS CONCEPT that includes zero breakdowns,
zero rejection and zero accidents. TPM have helped in
reducing the breakdown frequency to 1/3rd.
TPM POLICIES: -Renovate the manufacturing system to
achieve high efficiency Production through Zero
failure and Zero defects.
Improve the workplace environment through Zero
accidents and Zero pollution.
Develop skills of the employees through education and
training.
GKA (Group kaizen activity)
R&D (Research and development):-- The group has
partnered IIT-Delhi in research projects that deals with new
concepts in steering system technology. In this field
significant progress has been collaborated with IIT-Mumbai.
MISSION OF THE COMPANY:
―Create a company that INDIA is proud of.‖
1987--- Commencement of production
1992--- Equity participation (8%) by Koyo
1994--- ISO 9002 certification by TUV-CERT, Germany.
1995--- Technical collaboration agreement with Koyo for
manufacturer of power steering gear.
1997--- KOYO increased equity to 20.5%
1998--- October-- Sona steering system ltd changed to
Sona Koyo steering system Ltd
December--- Established plant in Chennai
2000--- QS 9000/ ISO 9001 certification by TUV-CERT,
Germany.
2002--- ISO 14001 certification by TUV-CERT,
Germany.
2003--- November--- ―Deming Award’ by JUSE, Japan.
December--- TS 16949
2004--- 21% equity participation in Fuji Auto tech,
France
C. Major Customers
1)
MARUTI UDYOG LTD.
2)
EICHER MOTOR LTD.
3)
KOYO SEIKO LTD.
4)
MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA
5)
HINDUSTAN MOTORS LTD.
6)
SWARAJ MAZDA
7)
TELCO
8)
HYUNDAI
PRODUCT RANGE: Sona Koyo’s product portfolio includes two distinct
product families—
1. Steering systems
2. Driveline products
STEERING SYSTEM PRODUCTS ARE AS
FOLLOWS—
Rack and pinion manual steering
1. Rack and pinion hydraulic steering
2. Re-circulating ball screw type gear assembly
3. Column assembly – Rigid
4. Column assembly – collapsible
5. Column assembly—collapsible with tilt
mechanism
6. Universal joints
DRIVELINE PRODUCTS ARE AS FOLLOWS:1. Rear axle assembly
2. Case differentials
3. Propeller shaft
SALES AND MANPOWER GROWTH: --
Net income from operations increased from Rs.
2340 mn in 2003-04 to Rs. 2975mn in 2004-05.

Operating profit before depreciation, interest and tax
(OPBDIT) excluding other income increased by
26% from Rs 283mn in 2003-04 to Rs 357mn in
2004-05

PAT increased by 37.7% from Rs 121mn in 2003-04
to Rs 167mn in 2004-05

Returns on net worth (RONW) increased from
19.8% in 2003-04 to 22% in 2004-05

EPS increased from Rs 2.75 in 2003-04 to Rs 3.7 in
2004-05
SONA INDUSTRY RECOGNITIONS: --





VISION OF THE COMPANY IN 2010
An organization of energised and involved
employees.
Growing and achieving high profitability.
Supplying to major global OEMs directly or
indirectly.
At least 45% of sales are to overseas customers.
Continues to be no. 1 steering system makers in
India.
II. STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE CORPORATE MISSION AND
VISION
1.
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Identify the world leaders in technology and form
strategies alliances with them: Sonia believes from
these leaders in technology as well as management
International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 5, December 2010
ISSN: 2010-0248
2.
3.
4.
and production techniques. A technical centre is
being developed in Gurgaon for development
purposes.
Energize Employees through education and training:
Special programs are conducted for employees to
keep them abreast wth the latest development.
Upgrade suppliers: suppliers are instructed and aided
in upgrading their quality and in adopting modern
production techniques, by Sona’s Suppliers Quality
Assurance (SQA) department. By helping its
suppliers upgrade their quality and production and
management techniques, Sona improves the quality
of its own products creating a win situation for all.
Implement the TOYOTA PRODUCTION SYSTEM
(TPS) across the group: that lays stress on kaizen
teams, Kanban and Jidoka, Self Study Groups and
visits of experts from the partners is, now a part of
the work ethos at Sona. TPS streamlines operations
at the manufacturing end reducing cost and waste
elimination.
B. Data Collection Sources
The project got support from the information available
from a survey, which was conducted by the HR department.
There was no extensive data available for any help. It was
told by the AVP that no such survey was conducted yet
though he has planned to conduct a study on performance
management system.
C. Data Collection Method
Questionnaire method was used to collect the data. It is
the most extensively used method in various economic and
business surveys. The researcher and the respondent do
come in contact with each other if this method of survey is
adopted.
D. Sampling Plan
There were 400 JM & SM level employees. Selection of
sample was done by random sampling method, where each
and every member of the population has an equal chance of
getting included in the sample, has the same probability of
being selected.
IV. INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS
III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A. Research Design
The research design is the arrangement of conditions for
the collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to
combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in
procedure. More explicitly, the design decisions happen to
be in respect of: 1. What is the study about— The study is all about
Performance management system of the company. In
today’s scenario there is a great importance of PMS.
It plays an important role for employees as well as
for the success of the company.
2. Why is the study being made— Performance
management system being recognized as an
important function of an organization, which
contributes to the overall success of the organization.
3. Where will the study be carried out— the study was
conducted at Sona koyo steering systems limited at
its Gurgaon plant.
4. What periods of time will the study include— The
time taken for the entire process took around eight
weeks, which includes collecting PMS of different
companies, noticing the key points, framing of the
questionnaire, distribution of the questionnaires.
Collection of it, then collection of the data and
finally the interpretation of the data collected.
5. What will be the sample size— The sample size was
selected by random sampling. There were around
400 employees at JM & SM out of which a sample
size of 80 were selected, which were true
representative of the population.
6. What technique of data collection will be used—
Questionnaire technique was used to collect the data.
7. How will the data be analyzed— The statistical
method used to analyse the data is Likert scale and Q.
C. Tool (Bar Diagram)
529
For analysis part we have used the Likert Scale method
and Q. C. Tool (Bar Diagram).Analysis done by grade wise.
100%
90%
80%
75%
75%
75%
75%
75%
70%
60%
50%
50%
50%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
牋
Sat isf act ion
牋
燤ent or 牋
Review of
牋
Rat ing牋
Salary hike
牋
Weight age
牋
Division of牋
wit h PMS.
Underst anding
crit eria.
Declarat ion.
appraisal.
crit eriat echnical and
of PMS
nont echnical
compet ency.
Figure-1
Analysis for Junior Manager-1 Grade:
Here, by analysis it shows that 75% employees are
satisfied with the new Performance management system of
the company. 75% employees are happy with the
understanding of the Performance management system.25%
employees are happy with the rating criteria. 25%
employees are happy with salary hike. 75% employees are
satisfied with the weightage criteria.75% employees are
happy with the division of technical and non-technical
competencies.50% employees are satisfied with mentoring
concept.75% employees are satisfied with the review of
appraisal. Overall of this is that most of the employees are
happy with the PMS but 25% employees are not happy with
rating criteria and salary hike.
For Junior Manager-2 Grade:
International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 5, December 2010
ISSN: 2010-0248
happy with the division of technical and non-technical
competencies.100% employees are satisfied with mentoring
concept. 25% employees are satisfied with the review of
appraisal.
For Junior Manager -4 Grade:
Figure-2
Here, by analysis it shows that 75% employees are
satisfied with the new Performance management system of
the company. 50% employees are happy with the
understanding of the Performance management system.
50% employees are happy with the rating criteria. 25%
employees are happy with salary hike. 75% employees are
satisfied with the weightage criteria. 75% employees are
happy with the division of technical and non-technical
competencies.75% employees are satisfied with mentoring
concept.75% employees are satisfied with the review of
appraisal.
For Junior Manager-3 Grade:
Figure-4
Here, by the analysis it shows that the 75% employees are
satisfied with the new Performance management system of
the company. 75% employees are happy with the
understanding of the Performance management system.
50% employees are happy with the rating criteria. 75%
employees are happy with salary hike. 50% employees are
satisfied with the weightage criteria. 75% employees are
happy with the division of technical and non-technical
competencies.75% employees are satisfied with mentoring
concept. 50% employees are satisfied with the review of
appraisal .
For Junior Manager-5 Grade:
Figure-3
Here, by analysis it shows that 50% employees are
satisfied with the new Perfromance management system of
the company. 50% employees are happy with the
understanding of the Performance management system.
50% employees are happy with the rating criteria.25%
employees are happy with salary hike. 75% employees are
satisfied with the weightage criteria. 100% employees are
Figure-5
Here, by analysis it shows that 75% employees are
530
International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 5, December 2010
ISSN: 2010-0248
satisfied with the new Performance management system of
the company. 50% employees are happy with the
understanding of the Performance management system.
75% employees are happy with the rating criteria. 75%
employees are happy with salary hike. 75% employees are
satisfied with the weightage criteria. 50% employees are
happy with the division of technical and non-technical
competencies.50% employees are satisfied with mentoring
concept. 75% employees are satisfied with the review of
appraisal.
For Senior Manager Grade:
Here, by analysis it shows that 75% employees are
satisfied with the new Performance management system of
the company. 75% employees are happy with the
understanding of the Performance management system.
50% employees are happy with the rating criteria. 50%
employees are happy with salary hike. 75% employees are
satisfied with the weightage criteria. 75% employees are
happy with the division of technical and non-technical
competencies.100% employees are satisfied with mentoring
concept. 75% employees are satisfied with the review of
appraisal.
V. CONCLUSIONS
Here, by analysis it shows that 68% employees are
satisfied with the new Performance management system of
the company. 68% employees are happy with the
understanding of the Performance management system.
61% employees are happy with the rating criteria. 57%
employees are happy with salary hike. 82% employees are
satisfied with the weightage criteria. 75% employees are
happy with the division of technical and non-technical
competencies.79% employees are satisfied with mentoring
concept. 64% employees are satisfied with the review of
appraisal.
VI. SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Figure-6
Here, by analysis it shows that 50% employees are
satisfied with the new Performance management system of
the company. 100% employees are happy with the
understanding of the Performance management system.
75% employees are happy with the rating criteria. 50%
employees are happy with salary hike. 75% employees are
satisfied with the weightage criteria. 75% employees are
happy with the division of technical and non-technical
competencies.100% employees are satisfied with mentoring1.
concept. 75% employees are satisfied with the review of
appraisal.
For GET Grade:
100%
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90%
80%
75%
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75%
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Key performance areas are the most important factor for
evaluating the employee’s performance. So, there should be
role clarity in the organization.
Performance should be linked with reward and it should
be given to employees timely.
In PA Form company should also include preparing a
Personal Action Plan (PAP) in which employees can chalks
out a list of actions he will undertake for performance
enhancement and self-improvement.
HR department should give proper attention to section 3
i.e., performance factor. Because they are the basic
competency which relates to long-term goal of the company.
Rating scale should be changed into 4-point scale in which
fourth scale would be no performance.
For nontechnical competencies like, Leadership Skill
quality it can be rated between 3 to 5 like this way- It will
be either between 3 to 3.50 or 4. To 4.25 or 1.50 to 2.25.
While defining competency proficiencies these rating ranges
can be appropriately labeled such as Leadership Skill
between 3 – 3.50 is considered to be good, but need
improvement. Rating between 4. to 4.50 can be said
excellent, and needs to be kept consistent, or rating between
2.00 to 2.50 needs immediate training program. It is also
possible that ratings may fall and rise periodically because
behaviors are not always constant; they change, improve or
decline.
REFERENCES
[1]
[2]
[3]
Figure-7
531
Gupta, C.B., ―Human Resource Management‖, Eleventh Edition,
New Delhi, Sultan Chand and Sons Publication, 2009
Chhabra, T.N., ―Human Resource Management‖, Second Edition,
New Delhi, Sun India Publication, 2008 .
www.citehr.com
International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 5, December 2010
ISSN: 2010-0248
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
www.sonagroup.com
www.haripassion.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.answers.com
Geeta Kumari- Geeta Kumari
did MBA in 2007 and M.Phil in
Business Administration in 2010.
She is serving as Assistant
Professor
in
Business
Administration
Department
Since August 2008 at Gurgaon
College
of
Engineering,
Gurgaon, India. She has got 20
research publications to her
credit in international and national conferences and journals.
K.M.Pandey-K.M.Pandey is serving as
Professor in Department of Mechanical
Engineering,
National
Institute
of
Technology, Silchar, Asam, India.
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